


Slow Motion

by Selah



Series: Coffee in Bed [1]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Found Family, Group as family, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Polyamory, Song Mingi has the bad brain bugs, pre-OT8
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:01:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29826729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selah/pseuds/Selah
Summary: Song Mingi has been having a hard time of things. The rest of ATEEZ isn't about to let him think he has to do it all by himself.
Relationships: Kang Yeosang/Song Mingi
Series: Coffee in Bed [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2192643
Kudos: 17
Collections: Kpop Kinkmeme





	Slow Motion

**Author's Note:**

> Soft supportive OT8 in which Mingi stays in the dorm in order to get/keep the support of his secret polycule while he fights his own brain. Played loose with the timing, but Yeosang was still blond when I wrote the first draft, so he's blond here, too.
> 
> Since I went mostly with nicknames over birth names for reasons.... Hongjoong = Hong/Dad, Seonghwa = Mars/Mom, Yunho = Goldie (Golden Retriever), Yeosang = HeHe-mon/Chicken (because HeHe sounds similar to Hei-Hei and I am a child), San = Sanjook, Mingi = Minnie/Mingki, Wooyoung = Corgi, and Jongho = Apple
> 
> … some day I will stop recycling the stupid SG-1 wild horses joke. Today is not that day.

Mingi ignored the knock on his door. It had taken him forever to wiggle himself into exactly the right spot and he was not getting up for anything less than an actual fire, thanks.

Except … the guys were supposed to all be out doing … something. Promos, maybe? Something that should have meant he was home alone all day, so who was knocking on his door?

“Hey, Mingi? You awake in there?”

“That's a stupid question. What's he gonna do, snore on cue if he's asleep?”

“Shut up! It's not a stupid question! Mingi, for real, you awake, man?”

“Ugh, you're such a himbo, Jung Wooyoung.”

So much for being home alone. Mingi swiped down on his phone screen and sighed. Yeah, that explained it all right. Great, another day wasted and he had nothing to show for it. Though why Wooyoung and Yeosang thought they needed to come bother him….

“… guess he's asleep. Come on, you two,” Yunho added and Mingi gave up.

“Yeah, like anyone could sleep through those two,” he grumbled loud enough to … _probably_ be heard through the door, though he still didn't want to unwrap from his nest of blankets.

“Mingiiiiiiii.”

Even with that whine as warning, Mingi wasn't ready for the way the bed bounced as Yeosang landed on it, the younger man pawing at his bedding nest until he had found a way to join him. For a split second, Mingi panicked at the feel of arms snaking around his bare chest. And then his brain registered the soft scent of Yeosang's shampoo wafting over him as the blond nuzzled into the crook of Mingi's shoulder. Safe. Yeosang was safe, always safe. Mingi slowly folded his arms around the shorter man, closing his eyes as he nosed fluffy blond strands. Freshly washed and always safe.

“How do you feel?” Yeosang asked softly, fingers lightly stroking Mingi's bare chest.

“I … I'm here,” he mumbled, not sure what else to say.

“Yes, you are,” Yeosang agreed with a little hum. “And so are we.”

“Mm. I'm gonna open the curtains, if that's okay, Mingki?” Wooyoung called out from probably beside the window.

Mingi grunted, surprised to hear shuffling that, when he reopened his eyes a moment later, apparently hadn't been the curtains because his room was still pretty dim.

“Um, Corgi?”

“What? That was definitely your 'do it and I'll feed you your own dick' grunt,” Wooyoung said with a casual shrug, grinning before reaching out for the duvet. “Want me to pull this up then? You might be part bat, but the rest of us could use a bit more light.”

Mingi wasn't sure if he was just having a hard time processing words or what, laying there blinking up at the other man for a long moment before Wooyoung just nodded and adjusted the duvet. Just him and Yeosang – soft, sweet Yeosang – in their own little blanket cave. And it was fine … until he realized he could hear shuffling and rustling from beyond the duvet. His heart was suddenly thundering against his ribs and panicked thoughts rushed over him. Someone was in his room, touching his things! What if –.

“Shh, shh, it's just us. You know we'd never let anything hurt you here,” Yeosang soothed, rubbing along his sternum in slow, rhythmic strokes.

“What…?”

“You've, uh, kinda been … nesting this week? So Apple, Corgi, and Goldie are cleaning up. Hong and Mars are cooking dinner right now, and Sanjook said he'll draw you a bath after we eat. And I'll stay with you the whole time, if that's what you want.”

“I….”

Except Mingi didn't know what to say, something sharp prickling at the corners of his eyes. Oh, tears. He squeezed his eyes tight shut, trying to will them away. It didn't work.

“It's okay, Mingki,” Yeosang murmured, brushing kisses to Mingi's cheeks. “It's okay. We're here, we'll take care of you.”

“But I –.”

“But nothing. You're a part of us; of _course_ we'll take care of you, baby.”

“But I'm not –.”

“Just because you're on hiatus, that doesn't mean you aren't still a part of us,” Yeosang interrupted, reaching up to tuck dark strands behind Mingi's ear. “Do I need to fetch Mom and Dad for you to hear it? You're part of us, no matter what. We're here for you, whatever you need.”

Mingi felt his breath catch in his chest for a moment, breaking with a soft sob. The sounds outside his nest suddenly stopped. Mingi bit his lip, too scared to ask what was happening. Had the others heard him then? Apparently, as the bed then dipped in several places at once, hands gently landing on his side, his head, his leg.

“What Chicken-hyung said, hyung,” Jongho said. “We're just about done, I think, but no rush, you can stay in bed as long as you want.”

“I'll even close the curtains again before we leave,” Wooyoung added. “It's getting pretty dark out there anyway.”

The hand on his leg gave him a gentle squeeze, the other two getting in a couple of soft pats before all three left the bed again. It felt … Mingi wasn't sure what he was feeling, actually. A tightness in his chest that was warm, like he really was loved.

“Okay,” Yunho said after awhile longer of shuffling sounds, “we're all done now, Mingki. But like Apple said, take your time, okay? Dinner's probably not going to be ready for awhile yet anyway.”

Mingi tried to say something, but the words were all stuck in his throat. And then his door was closing again anyway. And yet Yeosang was still there, still curled up in his arms, soft and safe.

“… you're getting my bed all dirty with your street clothes, Hehe-mon,” he mumbled after a bit.

“It's fine, they're going to change everything while we're in the bath later,” Yeosang said, grinning up at him in the darkness of their nest, lit now only by Mingi's phone screen.

He felt stupid, crying again already, but it was like he couldn't control it. Despite the fears still lurking in Mingi's chest, Yeosang didn't tease him. Instead the blond cupped his cheek and then pressed a soft kiss to his lips, a kiss filled with such warmth it made Mingi's heart ache.

“Anything you need, baby,” the blond murmured, pecking another kiss to his lips. “You don't even have to ask if you can't … though it might take us a little longer to figure out what you need that way.”

“I just … I feel so stupid. Like I'm letting everyone down.”

“Well stop it,” Yeosang scolded gently, kissing him again. “Needing help isn't stupid. Asking for help _definitely_ isn't stupid. You don't have to be strong all the time, Minnie. That's why you've got us, okay? We'll hold you up when you need it. Always. That's what being ATEEZ means, yeah?”

“Y-yeah,” Mingi mumbled, sniffling a little and then hugging Yeosang tighter. “Thanks.”

Of course Mingi's phone decided that was the perfect time to go to sleep, plunging them into warm darkness. Yeosang snickered into Mingi's shoulder for a long moment, then wiggled and pulled out his own phone.

“Wanted to show you something anyway,” the blond murmured, thumbing through a few screens before holding his phone so Mingi could see it properly.

It took Mingi several seconds to even register what it was he was seeing. Gently lifting the phone from Yeosang's hand, he started to scroll the Twitter feed the blond had pulled up for him, completely unprepared for the words he was seeing. Hashtags with his name, tweets from ATINYs filled with well wishes and hopes that he could feel like himself again soon. So _many_ supportive tweets, fans telling him how much they still loved him. Telling him to take as long as he needed to recover. Promises to wait for him, no matter how long it took. Offerings of praise for admitting he needed help and then getting that help. There were even a couple calling him a hero and an inspiration. It was overwhelming, to say the least. Not at all the response he had expected, which was why he had been avoiding Twitter for so long now. Oh sure, Yeosang had no doubt gone looking for the hashtag with the most positive feed, but still….

“I … I don't know what to say….”

“You don't have to say anything, baby,” Yeosang mumbled, pressing another kiss to his damp cheek before shifting to tuck his arms around Mingi's shoulders, reversing their positions. “Just wanted you to see … no matter how it feels, you aren't alone.”

Mingi hummed as he kept reading, his eyes burning again. He couldn't completely silence the inner voice that thought he was being stupid, that tried to say he was a failure for not knowing yet when he would be able to rejoin the others. But seeing this made it a little easier to ignore than it had been that morning.

“Hey guys,” San said into the soothing stillness that had settled between Mingi and Yeosang, his tone surprisingly soft. “Just wanted to let you know, we're plating dinner now. But if you don't want to or don't feel like you _can_ join us, that's fine, too.”

As much as Mingi kind of wanted to stay right where he was, his stomach had other ideas. And no chill about outing that he hadn't eaten in hours, grumbling loud enough that San started chuckling.

“Is that a yes to joining everyone for dinner?” San teased.

Mingi allowed himself another few seconds of petulant silence, glaring a little at his own stomach before giving in to his body with a sigh.

“Yeah, just … need to get dressed.”

“Yeah, probably a good idea,” San agreed. “We've corrupted the maknae enough lately.”

“Apple hasn't been innocent since before I ever met him,” Mingi countered, passing Yeosang's phone back to him. “I'd just rather not be cold like that.”

“What, you don't think we could keep you warm enough?” Yeosang teased.

“And eat at the same time?” Mingi countered, finally pushing his way out of his blanket nest. “I'll go with pants, thanks.”

Yeosang's giggles left a warm glow in Mingi's chest. Maybe today wasn't such a bad day.

* * *

Mingi had to admit, the guys had been pretty amazing about everything. The cleanup crew had swiped his laundry, put back things obviously out of place, and taken out the detritus of Mingi's self-isolating without making any judgments – ambiguous papers were gathered together but not otherwise touched, dishes and food containers removed along with a couple figures he had smashed in one of his darker moments, but nothing else. Not even the books that should have gone back to the library last month. Dinner had included a couple of his favorite dishes, but no one had made anything of it. The other members laughed and joked as usual all through the meal, with Mingi encouraged to offer his opinion, but no one tried to force him to say or do anything. And as promised, after dinner was finished, San presented him with a main bath done up like a spa, the steam carrying his favorite scent from the bath water. Better yet, no one said anything about Yeosang staying with him, as if it were completely normal.

As quickly as he could, Mingi scrubbed himself clean so he could get into the steamy bath that much sooner. The water was at the perfect almost- _too_ -hot temperature as Mingi sank into it with a groan of pleasure, Yeosang giggling as he waited for him to get settled.

“Sounds like Sanjook got it exactly right.”

“I … you guys got _everything_ exactly right,” Mingi said, holding his arms open for Yeosang.

“Everyone agreed you need to be able to take things at your own pace, whatever that is,” Yeosang said as he settled between Mingi's thighs. “But … we missed you this week. And it just … felt like the right time to remind you that at your own pace doesn't have to mean you're all by yourself. Cuz no matter what, you definitely aren't.”

“So you keep saying,” Mingi said, chuckling a little.

“Mm, well, have to be sure you're hearing me,” Yeosang said, tucking Mingi's arms around him and then holding them in place. “And, you know, any time you want to talk about anything….”

“I'm thick, not stupid, Hehe-mon,” Mingi countered. “There's a difference.”

“Are you sure?” the blond teased, twisting around to brush a kiss to the corner of his lips.

It was an opening too good to resist. More surprisingly, to Mingi at least, he didn't _want_ to resist it, subtly rolling his hips against his partner and grinning at the way Yeosang's breathing hitched.

“What do you think?”

“Not, um, what I meant,” Yeosang mumbled, a trace of pink dusting his cheeks. “But I can work with this.”

Some voice in the back of his head was trying to say this was a bad idea, but Mingi was determined to ignore it. Especially with the way Yeosang had moved to straddle Mingi's hips, slipping a hand between them to slowly stroke his cock. He couldn't help a shiver at Yeosang's almost too light touch, the way the blond brushed teasing kisses along his jaw. It was a nice start, but Mingi wanted more. Catching Yeosang's face in both hands, Mingi started with a gentle kiss to the blond's lips. The way Yeosang whimpered and opened for him was really all the encouragement Mingi needed. Hands drifted down the blond's body, lingering where he noticed particularly favorable responses. Although it was hard for him not to laugh at the little rabbit-like squeak Yeosang made when Mingi accidentally tickled his ribs. So he let it happen.

“Mingi!”

“Sorry?” he murmured, drawing Yeosang closer to kiss and nibble at his throat. “Haven't done this with you in awhile.”

“Mm, and whose fault is that?” the blond replied, almost a sigh, as he arched into Mingi's touch.

“I know, but I … didn't think you'd want to put up with me still.”

“Idiot,” Yeosang said with a little huff, curling fingers into Mingi's hair and giving it a sharp tug until Mingi _had_ to meet his gaze. “Don't you get it yet? We love you, Minnie. You getting sick hasn't changed that.”

“I'm not _sick_ ,” he countered with a little huff. “Just….”

“Going through some mental health shit,” the blond finished for him, leaning up for another kiss. “Whatever you want to call it, baby, we still love you. All of you. In every way.”

“He's right, you know.”

Mingi almost flinched out of his own skin at the sudden addition of another voice, the unexpected touch of warm hands kneading his shoulders. What the hell?

“Corgi….”

Mingi glanced back over his shoulder, unprepared for the way Wooyoung leaned in closer and kissed him. Just a soft brush of lips against his own, but it was still unexpected and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.

“Anything you want, nothing you don't, yeah?”

“Um….”

“It's fine if you just want Hehe to yourself,” Wooyoung said, brushing another quick kiss to Mingi's lips. “But Mars insisted you wouldn't listen to him without someone else supporting his claims and I got the lucky straw,” he added, trailing fingers along Mingi's shoulder in what could only be called a lingering caress that was completely outside of Mingi's usual experiences with the man.

“Wait, are you telling me you guys drew lots to have a threesome with me and Yeosang?” he asked, his mood darkening. “What the actual fuck?”

Wooyoung looked so startled that Mingi actually started feeling guilty. Had he taken things to a wrong extreme? His friend looked so much like a kicked puppy just then it made something in his chest ache. Shit, he really was the worst friend....

“It's been, like, two and a half years and in all that you didn't notice … wow, you didn't, did you?” Wooyoung said at last, blinking and stepping back. “Okay, well then. Okay. Right, I'll, um, I guess I'll just, uh, see myself out and let the others know you win himbo of the polycule, babe. Hehe-mon?”

“Mm, we'll be fine,” Yeosang said, shifting until he was settled against Mingi's chest again, one arm tucked around his waist while the other hand rested over Mingi's heart.

“Did we ruin the moment?” the blond asked after the door latched again.

A part of Mingi wanted to say no, but … everything felt so awkward now and he wasn't sure why. The word “polycule” kept pinging around his head and he didn't want to admit he didn't know what the word meant. Especially when it felt like yet another instance of him being the last to catch on.

“Hey,” Yeosang said, cupping his cheek. “Mingi. Baby. It's okay, yeah? We don't have to do anything you don't want. Ever. No matter what anyone says.”

Yeosang kissed him again, sweet and gentle and completely undemanding. Mingi couldn't hold back a low groan of want, hands sliding into blond strands as he held him close and deepened the kiss again. This wasn't the right time for him to be trying to puzzle out the implications of what Wooyoung had said. In the bathtub wasn't the ideal place for much, but Yeosang's hand on his cock was more than Mingi had allowed himself in some time. He'd been keeping his distance from the others, especially Yeosang, because of his own demons. But if it really had all just been his own head playing a cruel trick on him, then....

He was a little embarrassed at how quickly he came undone in Yeosang's hands, a little sob catching in his throat. The blond cooed soft reassurance, cleaning them both up and then wrapping Mingi in a particularly fluffy bathrobe that he was positive he had never before seen in his life.

“… stay with me tonight?”

“Undomesticated equines could not displace me,” Yeosang teased, brushing another sweet kiss to Mingi's lips.

The fact that they didn't see another person between the bathroom and Mingi's room was completely suspicious, but he didn't have the energy to ask Yeosang about it tonight. Maybe in the morning, along with all those other questions he was ignoring. For right now, though, all he wanted was to burrow into his freshly remade bed with Yeosang in his arms, to drink in the soft reality of him and tell his demons to fuck off for a few hours. It was what he needed.

**Author's Note:**

> This proto-series went through about four names before I finally settled on the one it has now and yes, it's taken from the Pentatonix track. I haven't even started the next fic in this series thanks to a couple monster multichapter fics that are sucking up a huge portion of my creative energies (such as I have them) lately, so comments pushing for more will be (more or less) politely ignored. Otherwise, you can find me on Twitter [@emorenosagt](https://twitter.com/emorenosagt) and [CuriousCat](https://curiouscat.qa/emorenosagt)~


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